MK5 Golf GTI

General => Random Chat => Topic started by: marka87uk on March 20, 2012, 05:32:57 pm

Title: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: marka87uk on March 20, 2012, 05:32:57 pm
As above, preferably a 3 door hatchback or 2 door coupe (Evo's or Impreza's don't really interest me).

- Less than £20k
- Good performance (preferably 300bhp+ for an idea)
- Good handling (must be fun to drive)
- Good interior specification

I only do about 5k miles a year so fuel isn't much of an issue; and I turn 25 this year with 7 years or so NCB so insurance isn't also much of an issue.

Here's the type of car I'm thinking about:

- 07-08 Audi S3 - around £14k but similar to my Edition 30 really
- 02-04 Porsche 996 C4S - around £20k but quite expensive to run/maintain and the IMS engine issue bothers me
- BMW E46 M3 - around £10-15k but I realise there's some bad examples out there
- Focus RS Mk2 - a bit more than £20k for a good example with both Lux packs
- BMW E90 335i - around £15k - well spec'd and very good performance but I don't know if they're more of a cruiser than something to take around the country lanes

Any ideas!? :happy2:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: benjii on March 20, 2012, 05:43:59 pm
might be a bit old for what your looking at but s2000
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Mk5 GTian on March 20, 2012, 05:44:10 pm
Focus RS Mountune MP350. Seen them for 21 grand and driven one. MENTAL!!

I got out of that car, and the smile didn't leave me for days!

I'd get that, or a 2006 RS4 saloon or cabriolet. 420bhp, 0-60 in 4.7  :drool:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: marka87uk on March 20, 2012, 05:52:02 pm
Thanks :wink:

I agree the Mountune MP350's are really nice! The Mountune place is only a 5 min walk from me as well. I haven't seen them as low as that unfortunately but I'll keep my eye out in case any pop up! Still out of my budget slightly but they should keep coming down in price as they're only a couple of years old.

I'm not a big fan of convertibles to be honest. :smiley:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: GTsport on March 20, 2012, 05:53:07 pm
Lotus Elise
Porsche Boxster
Audi S5
Audi TTS
Scirocco R
BMW 135

Think I'd be wanting either the TTS or S5!
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: rich83 on March 20, 2012, 05:55:43 pm
S5 ain't a performance hatchback....
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: GTsport on March 20, 2012, 05:57:12 pm
S5 ain't a performance hatchback....

But it is a coupe  :laugh:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: MC71 on March 20, 2012, 06:04:10 pm
Live on the edge, TVR t350 3.6ltr 350bhp standard. get a good one for £20k. Go on, DO IT!!!   :rolleye:
Oh, it might break down but hay, life's a lottery.
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: rich83 on March 20, 2012, 06:04:32 pm
Ok.... (didn't see that in the title) I seriously doubt the S5 is fun to drive though, they are heavy and have the steering feedback akin to the jahre viking. ;/)
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: RobH on March 20, 2012, 06:06:53 pm
135i all day long for sub 20k and would be immense to drive especially when compared to an S5, underpowered overweight piece of :angry015:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Janner_Sy on March 20, 2012, 06:09:24 pm
R26R for a track beats, or if you want a more coupe and sexy sleek look the meganne RS250 i reckon thats where ill be heading....or maybe a FRS Mountune
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: GTsport on March 20, 2012, 06:16:39 pm
Ok.... (didn't see that in the title) I seriously doubt the S5 is fun to drive though, they are heavy and have the steering feedback akin to the jahre viking. ;/)

That's true about it being heavy. I drove a 61 plate s4 a couple of months ago and I was well impressed but I guess it's not the best handling car 20k!

TTS or BMW 135 then  :smiley:

The S4 was a neighbours Hire car while his was TTRS was being fixed. And that thing is phenomenal!!!  :driver:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Mk5 GTian on March 20, 2012, 06:42:53 pm

If not a Mountune (cheapest on Autotrader is 23k at the mo) TTS or an S3 . 4wd in England, with 7 months of sh*t weather and a dodgy summer makes getting the power down a lot easier.

Or maybe wait until a Golf R is 20k.
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Janner_Sy on March 20, 2012, 06:50:14 pm
why not go the two car route.  Something sedate and normal, then something like abit of clio clutter for trackdays
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: jameelno1 on March 20, 2012, 06:59:54 pm
20k lots of choices if age of car not an issue u could get a porsche, merc sl500 or aston martin db7 list is endless :signLOL:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: GTIjames on March 20, 2012, 07:02:17 pm
Cayman S you should be able to pick up an alright 06/07 example for £20kish now and if your only doing 5k miles a year maintenance shouldn't bee too costly either. Handles like a dream, sensible amount of power for the roads and sounds amazing at full chat.

Another one would be a 2010/11 low mileage factory jcw mini c211hp with a remap up to 260-80 is good fun in 1130kg car, raspy exhaust and again handles brilliantly.



Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Mk5 GTian on March 20, 2012, 07:04:17 pm
20k lots of choices if age of car not an issue u could get a porsche, merc sl500 or aston martin db7 list is endless :signLOL:

SL500? You can get an SL55 for that money now. Driven one of those at Brooklands, God the noise, I nearly had a mancident!  :rolleye:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: George on March 20, 2012, 09:59:22 pm
Facelift S3 or Focus RS  :party:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: PDT on March 21, 2012, 04:59:11 pm
As a tuner I am in the fortunate position to get to drive most modern hot hatches/sports cars. I drove a 135i and loved it so I bought one. For your budget you could get a nice example with the later DCT box and the more economical n55 engine.

Mine has:

Non-runflats, Quaife ATB limited slip diff, Remus exhaust, Sedox stg1 map and Bilstein B12 pro kit.

It does everything well, enough power for any situation (380hp) handles brilliantly, sounds great, traction is never a probem thanks to lsd, comfortable on a long run and not too bad on fuel. Also boot is huge! Comes with Brembo 6 pots as standard so no need fr brake upgrades.

335i is similar but feels fatter and more relaxed.
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: tony_danza on March 21, 2012, 05:31:48 pm
If you don't need 4 seats, ever, then a Cayman or Boxster S. Maybe a Z4M too.

I needed 4 seats, so I got a 135i.
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Janner_Sy on March 21, 2012, 05:46:35 pm
Ive never been able to work out why, but for some reason i want one of these.  Think i just have a thing for ugly cars  :grin:

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdracing.co.uk%2Farchive%2Fimages%2Fmcoupe_clean2%2Flarge%2Fpic66.jpg&hash=ad26e997bb25e581569925257420fdb43daf876e)
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.forum-auto.com%2Fmesimages%2F533734%2FZ3M%2520Coupe%2520264.jpg&hash=aa9aea3c55e238f900a64469dd927eaba97572cf)

They seem to have held their money better than the normal M cars though, and are pretty rare, plus with 321hp it'll be rapido
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Deako on March 21, 2012, 05:47:39 pm
I work with the owner of Juiced Up if anyone is looking for tuning parts/kit from the USA for their BMWs.
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Mk5 GTian on March 21, 2012, 08:04:10 pm
Ive never been able to work out why, but for some reason i want one of these.  Think i just have a thing for ugly cars  :grin:

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdracing.co.uk%2Farchive%2Fimages%2Fmcoupe_clean2%2Flarge%2Fpic66.jpg&hash=ad26e997bb25e581569925257420fdb43daf876e)
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.forum-auto.com%2Fmesimages%2F533734%2FZ3M%2520Coupe%2520264.jpg&hash=aa9aea3c55e238f900a64469dd927eaba97572cf)

They seem to have held their money better than the normal M cars though, and are pretty rare, plus with 321hp it'll be rapido


That's not ugly mate. I love the look of it! It's just very different, and super-quick to boot.  :happy2:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: tony_danza on March 21, 2012, 08:07:01 pm
Proper hairy chested car that'll frighten you to death if you poke it. Just what you want from a toy!
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Janner_Sy on March 21, 2012, 08:47:49 pm
Think ferrari liked it as well

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdracing.co.uk%2Farchive%2Fimages%2Fmcoupe_clean2%2Flarge%2Fpic66.jpg&hash=ad26e997bb25e581569925257420fdb43daf876e)
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.classicdriver.com%2Fupload%2Fimages%2F_de%2F6319%2FFerrari_FF_04.jpg&hash=4c01ce5f0f309f3d52b781120bf8e5f38785197a)

Do they need any mods on the Z3M to make it track worthy
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: sub39h on March 21, 2012, 09:08:57 pm
Cayman? Sure you could get an early one for that kinda cash
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Janner_Sy on March 21, 2012, 09:37:31 pm
I do like a cayman

But what a jaguar XKR

Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Hedge on March 21, 2012, 09:43:18 pm
Hyundai i10.  :popcornsoda:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: andrewparker on March 21, 2012, 09:48:49 pm

But what a jaguar XKR


Behave, the poor lad is only 24. An S5 would be bad enough.
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: jhtrophy on March 22, 2012, 10:27:12 am

But what a jaguar XKR


Behave, the poor lad is only 24. An S5 would be bad enough.
:signLOL:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: simonp on March 22, 2012, 11:05:11 am
Z4 M Coupe would probably be in budget, too.
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: taff-turbo on March 22, 2012, 08:17:49 pm
i was looking to get an e46 m3 but was really put off by the "issues" but 135 looks like a definite alternative
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: Edition30 on March 22, 2012, 09:38:12 pm
Focus RS or S3  :driver:


We have a nice white Focus RS in at work a snip under 20 grand. Sound great  :evilgrin:

If it was my money it would be on the S3. I just love the way you can nail it off the line. We also have a very well looked after 2004 M3 in stock at 12k (I think, maybe cheaper). The guy was so particular about it and didnt really want to let it go.
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: marka87uk on March 24, 2012, 12:23:28 am
Thanks guys, some very good suggestions!

I must say, I really don’t like the look of the Cayman… I’m sure it’s amazing to drive but to me the looks let it down!

135i sure looks good on paper but they seem quite hard to find in that price range(?) – I prefer the look of the 335i but it seems a bit more of a cruiser (although as you most probably know, it basically has the performance of an M3 for half the price!).

Z4M is a good option! I will look into those more…

As andrewparker said, a Jag is really a bit ‘old man’ for me! That said, I do like the look of their newer models. :ashamed:

One thing that did strike me was the SL55 AMG – I’ve never been a big Merc fan but they have all the toys and almost 500bhp! Tempting!

What would you say the issues would be with an E46 M3? They’re pretty cheap now but I can imagine there are some dogs around… a good pre-purchase inspection would give some peace of mind before buying though?

I wish the Focus RS was cheaper and it’d be a definite! :drool:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: simonp on March 24, 2012, 01:54:43 am
FRS is under £20K (just) nowadays. My local dealer had a white one on the forecourt at £19,995 for months, so I expect it sold for less than that...
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: tony_danza on March 24, 2012, 08:43:41 am
The only E46 M3 issue I know of is the subframe tearing the mounts on the shell, but BMW fix this for free. For 20k you'd get a very last of the CS with full BMW extended warranty and change too.

I'd still take a Z4M over it though, as it has the CSL's lump and better residuals.

135is didn't sell that well early on due to the arse falling out of the market, so reasonably rare.

335i might keep with an M3 once mapped in a straight line, but you're fooling yourself if you think it'll not be left for dead though the bends.
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: GTIjames on March 24, 2012, 09:32:59 am
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fu347%2Fjnewby99%2F900b89dc.jpg&hash=661e4f4105636cf2c5579c07a084a3d73197375d)

Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: marka87uk on March 24, 2012, 10:00:36 am
OK I admit that Cayman does look nice, but it's just not for me sorry! :)

To be honest I doubt i'd take my car round a track any day soon so would rather spend half the price on a decent M3 than a CSL.

I'm quite taken by the Z4M's actually - may have to arrange some test drives! :wink:
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: andrewparker on March 24, 2012, 10:43:38 am
This one looks gorgeous -

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3734587.htm
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: simonp on March 24, 2012, 10:53:07 am
That is lovely. Lot of kit and in an M specific colour, too.
Title: Re: Recommend Me a Car - Performance Hatchback or Coupe for Less Than £20k
Post by: candy turbo on March 24, 2012, 08:27:42 pm
i ve owned a cayman and a megane rs 250 and the renault is the better driving car of the 2